The Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo and Krasnoyarsk regions have all declared state of emergencies this month, a formal designation which allows farmers to claim compensation and insurance payments.

In 2023, the combined harvest of grain and legume crops in the Altai region amounted to almost 5.0 million tons.

Taken together, the five affected regions accounted for about eight per cent of last year’s grain harvest in Russia, the world’s largest wheat exporter.

“Having collected detailed information from agricultural producers, the Hydro-meteorological Center and other experts, colleagues in government proposed introducing a state of emergency in the territory of the region, associated with excessive soil moisture,” Viktor Tomenko, the regional governor, said on his official Telegram channel.

“At today’s meeting of the commission a decision was made (to introduce a state of emergency) – the necessary documents were prepared”, he added.

Over a dozen Russian grain-producing regions have been hit by extreme weather, from early spring frosts to drought in recent months. The bad weather has affected an area of more than 1.1 million hectares, officials say.

Many southern regions, key for grain production, are suffering from drought, which could lead to sowing problems for the new crop.

Despite the losses, Russia has maintained its official grain harvest forecast at 132 million metric tons, a 10% drop compared to last year, and its export forecast at 60 million tons.

—Reporting for Reuters by Olga Popova

The post Altai becomes fifth Russian region to declare emergency due to crop problems appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

As of early Thursday evening, the province was tracking 76 active wildfires, of which 22 were listed as “out of control” and 17 as “being held,” with 37 deemed under control.

The Alberta government on Saturday declared a provincial state of emergency, a legal status which allows for a higher level of intergovernmental co-ordination, around-the-clock situation monitoring, emergency discretionary funds and the ability to mobilize additional supports.

Firefighting in central parts of the province has benefited from recent moisture and cooler temperatures, the province said Wednesday, but added that conditions are expected to get hotter and drier by the weekend.

Fire danger remains “extreme” in many northern areas, the province said Wednesday, adding that “despite cooler temperatures elsewhere, a wildfire can still start easily and spread quickly in these conditions.”

The province on Wednesday advised producers to contact the Alberta Association of Agricultural Societies if seeking space for evacuated livestock. The association has an online list of contacts for local ag societies offering assistance.

Alberta Beef Producers, on its website, also offers a map of facilities such as rodeo and sports grounds made available for evacuated animals, along with listings of other resources for affected ranchers.

The organization also notes some members of the Alberta Auction Markets Association may have space available; the association can be reached at 780-789-3915 (north) or 403-358-0456 (south).

To help keep track of evacuated livestock, Animal Health Canada’s emergency management division has a template of a livestock evacuation documentation form on its website.

The province has reiterated that any evacuated farmers and ranchers can contact the provincial wildfire resource line at 310-4455 with ag- or livestock-related questions, and should also register at the evacuees’ reception centre for their community so staff can connect them with any needed resources.

Evacuated livestock producers may also need re-entry permits if they want to go back into an evacuated area to check on livestock, and should check with their municipality before entering, the province said.

The province’s Agriculture Financial Services Corp. (AFSC) said Wednesday its lending clients may be eligible for financial relief including payment deferrals, loan restructuring or approvals of short-term working capital loans.

Perennial crop producers with acres under moisture deficiency insurance (MDI) have a pasture spot loss fire benefit for fires caused by accident and/or lightning, triggered by a minimum burn of 100 acres, AFSC noted.

Annual crop growers with a hail endorsement on insured acres are covered for losses caused by accidental fire or fire by lightning, AFSC added. Producers with hay insurance and/or annual production insurance who have not elected the hail endorsement option are covered for fire caused by lightning, but not for accidental fires.

AFSC also noted the federal/provincial AgriStability ag income stabilization program will consider losses caused by accidental fire or fire by lightning when calculating a participant’s program year margins.

Evacuations

Communities covered by 13 full or partial evacuation orders as of Wednesday evening had included Drayton Valley, Fox Creek, Lac Ste. Anne, Rainbow Lake; the counties of Brazeau, Grande Prairie and Yellowhead; the Whitefish Lake, Sturgeon Lake Cree, Little Red River Cree (Fox Lake), O’Chiese and Beaver First Nations; the Gift Lake and East Prairie Metis settlements; and the municipal district of Greenview. As of Wednesday evening, 15 evacuation alerts were also in effect.

As of Thursday evening, however, the province reported nine evacuation orders remained in effect, covering a total of 16,493 evacuees. It also confirmed the evacuation order has been lifted for the remainder of Yellowhead County.

The province reported Thursday that the Canadian Armed Forces has deployed members of the Third Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (3PPCLI) and One Combat Engineer Regiment (1CER) to the Grande Prairie, Fox Creek and Drayton Valley areas. Army reserve soldiers from across the province are also deploying this week, the province said.

Over 800 wildland firefighters from multiple provinces, along with heavy equipment and airtankers, were responding to wildfires in Alberta as of Thursday evening.

Canadian National Railway, which said May 6 it had suspended service on its Edson subdivision running from Edmonton and Jasper due to fires in the Edson area, resumed operations on that section of its mainline the following Monday.

“Network fluidity was affected as train speed was reduced, and safety crews were required to spray tracks with water after every train,” CN said in its most recent weekly report on western Canadian grain handling.

The May 6-8 stoppage “also impacted the movement of traffic headed to the Edson subdivision, as dozens of trains in the western region were forced to wait until the danger had passed.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

The post Alberta fairs, auctions offer space for evacuated livestock appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

California was hit by nearly 11,000 lightning strikes in 72 hours, sparking 367 fires, nearly two dozen of them major, as the state suffered a record heat wave, authorities said.

A group of fires covering over 46,000 acres near the city of Vacaville raced through hills and mountains destroying 50 homes and other structures.

The city of 100,000, about 50 km southwest of Sacramento, was under a partial evacuation order after flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fire burned some homes, leaving dead livestock among the properties or wandering around, a Reuters photographer said.

“This is my cousin’s home in Vacaville that just burned to the ground,” tweeted podcast show host Robert Hanna with a picture of a house in flames.

The blazes follow devastating fires across northern California in 2017 that killed 44, wiped out numerous wineries and destroyed nearly 9,000 homes and other structures.

“In the last 72 hours we’ve experienced an historic lightning siege,” said California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokeswoman Lynnette Round.

So-called red flag high winds are fanning fires caused by rain-less dry-lightning storms, sending flames racing through scrub and woodland parched by record-breaking heat and low humidity.

Another group of fires called the SCU Lightning Complex about 30 km east of Palo Alto more than doubled in size overnight and is now burning over 85,000 acres. The CZU August Lightning Complex has grown to over 10,000 acres and forced evacuations around 20 km south of the city.

Governor Gavin Newsom has declared an emergency over the fires and said he requested 375 fire engines from out of state with Arizona, Nevada and Texas sending assistance.

— Reporting for Reuters by Steven Lam; additional reporting by Sharon Bernstein and Andrew Hay.

The post ‘Lightning siege’ sparks wildfires across California wine country appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a very different type of emergency, said Rebecca Husted, a teacher of technical large animal emergency rescue.

“Most disasters like fires and floods have people moving around, but in COVID-19, people are not supposed to move around,” Husted said Thursday at Alberta Farm Animal Care’s Livestock Care Conference.

(The conference was to be held in Olds, Alta. on Wednesday and Thursday but was changed to an online event, with social distancing in mind.)

But planning ahead — even in a fast-changing situation — remains key. This should involve being in touch with government or agencies (such as ag services boards or farm groups) and making them aware of your situation.

“It comes down to us, in our communities, raising the flag and going to those folks ahead of time and saying, ‘Hey, you have to come up with some plans because it makes your job as an emergency manager a lot easier if you already have a plan with your livestock producers or (agriculture) industry in the area,'” she said.

Canada and the U.S. use “all-hazards disaster plans,” which include plans for evacuation as well as plans for sheltering in place, said Husted.

“This is a shelter-in-place disaster as much as possible, but there’s some things we need to be able to move,” she said. “We need to be able to move our animals and products.”

Disaster managers in your community will be overtaxed and likely won’t have any plans for livestock.

“They have no idea what to do when it comes to transportation of ag products, and you may want to give them some expertise in your local community,” she said.

And prepare for the worst.

“Think about what you have to do if you can’t move your animals,” she said. “For some producers, you have to think about what your euthanasia plan is. If you can’t get the veterinarian there to deal with your horse with a broken leg, what are you going to do? If you, for whatever reason, can’t sell your pigs and they get too old and they aren’t marketable, what are you going to do with them?”

Anyone who is taking care of someone else’s animals might want to get a waiver that says that they can make decisions on the owner’s behalf.

Be prepared for some bottlenecks and slowdowns in the supply chain.

“Supply chains are going to be affected,” said Husted. “Veterinary associations are suggesting that some pharmaceutical products could be in short supply. It may be that some of that stuff is produced in China.”

Think about staffing requirements, and steps will need to be taken if staff get sick or need to take time off to deal with sick relatives or take care of children. As well, many people in the agricultural community are older, and therefore more likely to be seriously ill.

Also make a list of contacts — including “all those folks who are essential to your business, from your employees to your suppliers.”

Many people in the agricultural community are older, and therefore more likely to be seriously ill. It’s also important to make sure the business can run if people get sick or injured — including yourself.

“You need to think, ‘If I wasn’t coming back, what would people need to know so they could run the farm?'”

The thought of planning for so many dire possibilities can be disheartening, but Husted urged her audience to persevere.

“There are people who are very successful going through a disaster, but they have a plan, and they are prepared and as soon as the market is ready, they are going to move on that.”

— Alexis Kienlen reports for Alberta Farmer from Edmonton.

The post Ahead of any emergency, plan for the worst appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

Drought and grasshoppers have hindered crops to the point that hay production is about 25 to 30 per cent of average.

“We’ve moved cows out of pastures because the grasshoppers ate everything faster than the cows,” said Mike Duguid, who has farmed ar Arnes, Man., for about 60 years.

Duguid said he finished last year with “not one bale left in the yard” due to consecutive years of lower-than-average hay yields.

“Lots of guys are in the exact same position, with no reserves,” he said. “Not 100 bales or anything in your yard to start with.”

Cattle producers in the Interlake have reduced their herds to match feed supply as cattle were turned out onto pastures that weren’t producing as much hay as expected.

“Hay prices are too high to maintain a herd,” said Duguid. “You’ll go broke just trying to feed them.”

Currently, a 1,000-lb. round bale of hay costs about $100 — up considerably from the typical $30 per round bale.

“I doubt prices will drop until we see an oversupply again,” he said.

With the state of emergency, producers in the Interlake are hoping for freight assistance to ship in hay from elsewhere in the province.

Grain farmers in the area have aided livestock producers by baling straw to use to supplement hay stocks.

“That’ll stretch hay supplies way further,” said Duguid. “We’re happy they have come through for us.”

— Marlo Glass writes for MarketsFarm, a Glacier FarmMedia division specializing in grain and commodity market analysis and reporting.

The post Hay shortage in Manitoba Interlake reaches tipping point appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

Health Canada, proposing to streamline the processes for emergency access to drugs for livestock as well as people and pets, on Friday announced a public comment period on its proposals, running until July 19.

Much like the Special Access Program for drugs for human use — which is up for similar amendments — the Emergency Drug Release (EDR) program is used to provide access to veterinary drugs to treat animals with serious or life-threatening conditions when conventional therapies have failed, are unsuitable or are unavailable.

“Evolving disease patterns and global health incidents with a domestic impact have emerged, requiring new drugs, which are often not available in Canada, as manufacturers may not submit these drugs to the Canadian market due to its small size,” the department said in its regulatory impact statement.

“These conditions have reduced timely access to drugs for Canadian patients and animal owners.”

Proposed changes to the program “would reduce the administrative burden” and allow for a “more efficient process for repeat requests,” the department said.

Today, federal regulations require practitioners to submit data on the use, safety and efficacy of a drug to the EDR program, even if the program has previously authorized the same drug in the past for the same medical emergency.

The proposed amendments would allow practitioners to request a given drug that was previously EDR-authorized, under certain conditions, without having to submit the same data all over again.

The proposals would also more clearly allow drug companies to bring some drugs into Canada in advance of anticipated EDR requests, “in order to speed up access to needed treatments.”

That process, called “pre-positioning,” is today allowed only through an “exercise of enforcement discretion” by Health Canada on the current prohibition on imports on small individual shipments, so as to cut the time it takes to get an EDR-authorized drug from a manufacturer to a practitioner.

The proposals also call for an expansion of the antimicrobial sales reporting requirements already in place for drugs approved in Canada, to also cover veterinary drugs authorized under the EDR program.

The EDR program for veterinary drugs alone gets between 600 and 1,000 requests per year from up to 400 veterinarians for drugs for companion animals, food-producing livestock, wildlife species and fish. An average of 45 drugs have an active status in the EDR program, the department said.

EDR authorizations are meant for limited time, to meet specific emergency needs, and aren’t meant to promote or encourage early use of drugs, to conduct research, or to make an end-run around Canada’s clinical trial and drug review processes, the department emphasized.

EDR-authorized drugs don’t undergo comprehensive pre-market review and aren’t subject to the same manufacturing and post-market safety requirements as other drugs manufacturers take through the established approval process in Canada. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

The post Ottawa looks to speed up emergency access to livestock drugs appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

State agriculture officials on Friday announced four more poultry farms — a million-bird commercial egg laying operation and three turkey farms — have initially tested positive for an H5 strain of the virus.

“While the avian influenza outbreak does not pose a risk to humans, we are taking the matter very seriously and believe declaring a state of emergency is the best way to make all resources available,” Branstad said in a statement issued by the governor’s office.

According to federal agriculture officials, four chicken farms in the state were confirmed Tuesday with a highly pathogenic strain of H5N2 avian flu. The affected farms ranged in flock size from 98,000 to 3.66 million birds. A turkey farm with a flock of 50,000 birds was confirmed with H5N2 Wednesday.

Stats officials on Thursday also announced probable cases of H5 infection at three commercial laying operations and two turkey farms. One of the laying operations alone has a flock estimated at 5.5 million birds.

Not counting the cases announced Friday, 17 Iowa farms have been confirmed or presumed infected since April 13.

Canada has blocked travellers’ cross-border imports of live birds, raw poultry, raw poultry products and eggs from Iowa, as well as commercial imports from specific quarantine zones in the state, since April 14.

— Reporting for Reuters by P.J. Huffstutter in Chicago. Includes files from AGCanada.com Network staff.

The post Iowa declares state of emergency over avian flu appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.